The owner, Mark Alleman, owes H&B Equity Partners LLC the principal loan amount of $350,000, plus more than $36,000 in interest, according to a lawsuit H&B filed last month. A 15th Judicial District Court judge on Feb. 14 ordered the Sheriff’s Office to seize and sell the property at 900 Jefferson Street without appraisal.

The report goes on to detail that Alleman owns the Hook & Boil restaurant in Broussard and had plans to open a downtown location with a rooftop bar when he acquired The Filling Station in September 2016. The building has been shuttered since then, but in an early February text message, Alleman alluded to progress being made behind the scenes.

There’s no denying the public facing side of this project hasn’t gone as I’ve originally planned, but there’s a whole lot we’ve gained from it behind the scenes and it’s a really neat way for it to all come together

A January 8 lawsuit claims that Alleman also allegedly owes "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to seller James Suire and J.P. Morgan Chase.

Chase is seeking to foreclose on Alleman’s Broussard restaurant, which Alleman used as collateral to obtain a $249,700 loan about six weeks after acquiring The Filling Station. Alleman owes close to $235,000 on that loan, according to the lawsuit.

Suire told The Advocate he wasn't suing Alleman and declined to discuss their deal any further. You can get more details on the lawsuit here, but the questions that many are asking surround the future of the iconic downtown location?

If you were in a situation to purchase the building, what would you open in that location?